💟 Welcome

‘Hands Off!’ – Providence

April 5, 2025

Hope High School » Burnside Park

Stand in solidarity in opposition to the unconstitutional actions of an unelected billionaire and tell the administration we’ve had enough - Hands OFF!

Our goal with this event is to ensure safety first, that we are peaceful yet forceful, and that everyone who marches feels they’re making a difference. We can achieve that if we work together and move as one.

🗺️Schedule + Route

🅿️Parking

♿️Accessibility

✊Actions to take NOW

📣Sounds

🦺Volunteering

💬Speakers / Sponsors

This event is cosponsored by:

  • Indivisible RI
  • RI Working Families Party
  • Village Vanguard
  • The Womxn Project
  • Climate Action RI
  • SEIU 1199 NE
  • Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus
  • Reclaim RI
  • Atlantic Mills Tenant Union
  • …many more!

🤔 General Considerations

‘Hands Off!’ Providence

General Considerations

What will the event be like?

For further information about accessibility, see the “Accessibility” tab on the left.

  • This is a totally outdoor event. As of Wednesday, the forecast shows a low of 42°, a high of 46°, and an 82% chance of light rain. Link here
  • The rally/march begins at noon. March attendees will likely begin to gather on the front lawn of Hope High School as early as 10am.
  • For those who plan to march: the event will begin at Hope High School at 12pm with a short speaking program featuring the event organizers, followed by the march, ending with a full speaking program and chants at Burnside Park.
  • For those who cannot, or would rather not, march: Meet at Burnside Park any time between 12–1pm, and the march will meet you there.
  • The marching route is 1.2 miles long. It will take approximately 30 minutes, including some steep downhill walking.

Who can join the event?

  • Everyone who wants to protest the Trump/Musk austerity and brutality regime is welcome!
  • People of all ages and identities are welcome.
  • Pets must be leashed even if they are being carried—you will be turned away if your animal is not leashed. Please be considerate of other attendees, who might be allergic to your pet or otherwise experience difficulty related to your pet’s presence. Large rallies can be stressful for pets—we encourage you to walk at the back of the group if you sense that your animal will have a hard time being in a large crowd of strangers. Please make sure your pet is up to date on its shots.

What happens after the event is over?

  • The march will culminate at Providence City Hall, and after the final speaking program, the event will be over.
  • There will be no transportation or guidance provided after the event ends, so please plan your way back to your home, vehicle, or next destination ahead of time.
  • Throughout the speaking program and during the march, volunteers from the sponsoring organizations will be walking through the crowd passing out information about how to stay connected and take action.
  • You may want to head to nearby restaurants, including the newly open ‘Track 15’, which hosts 7 different local restaurants and has plenty of space. Other local places will gladly accept the traffic!

General comfort tips ahead of the event

  • Dress in layers—you might start out cold but warm up as more people fill the space around you, or you start moving.
  • Wear shoes that are comfortable to walk in that you don’t mind getting wet.
  • Wear sunscreen and bring sunglasses and/or a visor.
  • Bring your snacks and food if you like.
  • Consider a shoulder bag or backpack to carry your things in.

In the event of police intervention or counter protesting

We are planning for a safe, peaceful event. Nevertheless, the following are always good practices for civic actions:

  • We recommend setting your phone to unlock using a number combination or password, instead of using facial recognition or your fingerprints. Police can use face ID or your finger to unlock your phone against your will, but they cannot force you to give them your password.
  • Consider wearing glasses instead of contact lenses, if you use these. In the event that police use pepper spray or other inflammatory agencies on the crowd, contact lenses will make it harder to wash your eyes out.
  • Consider writing your emergency contact’s information on your body using a marker. You may also want to consider writing the legal defense fund or your lawyer on your arm, as well. Here is the ACLU’s First Defense Legal Aid’s Phone Number: 1-800-529-7374.
  • It may be useful to dress in a neutral color, wear a face covering, and/or hide any recognizable tattoos, if you wish.
  • Note: part of building solidarity in protest is getting to know people around you and being aware of who they are. So, face coverings are completely optional. We encourage you to get to know new people, march with people of like mind, and work together to build community.

🗺️ Schedule + Route

‘Hands Off!’ Providence

Schedule + Route        

Route

  1. Hope High School
  2. Walk south on Thayer Street
  3. Turn west on Angell Street
  4. Providence City Hall

Timing & Route

Please do everything in your power to get there early. The recommendation is to treat this as if you were going to a sporting event or a concert - you’re likely not showing up at tipoff for a Celtics game or kickoff of an RIFC or Patriots game. Make a plan ahead of time, get there early, and meet like-minded people. This is not just a somber occasion where we march out of anger - we can and will inject joy and community into this, as well. That starts with YOU!

We will be staging the pre-march on the front lawn at Hope HS. It is imperative that you are able to help us organize yourselves and the folks around you as our marshals and volunteers are attempting to relay information to you.

The route we are taking is linked in the button below. You can see from the map that by staging on the fields, we will be able to accommodate a larger crowd (will likely be a record crowd for any protest in Rhode Island).

Please be ready to listen and move as one. This is a peaceful demonstration.

🅿️ Parking etc.

‘Hands Off!’ Providence

Parking etc.

Bus Routes - Best Option

Utilize public transportation as best you can. The #1 RIPTA bus will drop you off right at Hope HS and picks up from Kennedy Plaza. Feel free to utilize the garages in downtown (mall parking, Biltmore Garage) to park and take the bus up to Hope HS. This is the best option to use.

Driving

Note: Parking in the Hope High School Lot will not be available (as of 4/1/25 per HHS private rental).

If you’re driving to park near Hope High School, please be aware that there are several lots that are larger than Hope’s. Here are a couple of options. (Park at your own risk—IRI and the lot owners assume no liability for your belongings.)

There is a large parking lot on Main St between Olney and Doyle that houses a Starbucks, a Petco, and a Whole Foods.

  • Moses Brown School (Across the street from Hope)
  • Olney St. Baptist Church (check the signs)
  • Brown University Athletics lot off Lloyd Ave
  • Any and all street parking

In and around Kennedy Plaza, there are a few dedicated accessible spots particularly near the courthouse itself and on Washington St.

Google Maps is a great resource to be able to figure out your plans to get there early, find a place to park, and make your way to Hope HS - whether that is coming from the Kennedy Plaza area or starting at Hope HS. Do what works for you.

If you are meeting at Kennedy Plaza / Providence City Hall

We hope everyone who can will meet us at Hope HS and march down! But if you cannot, you can meet us at the destination: Kennedy Plaza / Providence City Hall.

♿ Accessibility

‘Hands Off!’ Providence – April 5

Accessibility

❓Mobility

  • If you’d rather not march, go directly to Providence City Hallany time between 12–1pm.
  • The marching route is 1.2 miles long. It will take approximately 30 minutes, including some steeper downhill walking.
  • There are seating areas at the Ice Rink as well as around Burnside Park. If you need a place to sit, please find someone in an orange vest at the speaking program and they can seek to help you navigate to a seat.

❓Restrooms

  • Please plan ahead. We will not have portable toilets at Hope High School or Burnside Park.
  • There are restrooms in restaurants and businesses along the route but we cannot guarantee that their restrooms will be available to you.
  • At the final location, there will be public restrooms at the Biltmore Hotel, Kennedy Plaza, and the ice rink. You may also inquire with local businesses if their restrooms are open (pending purchase).

❓Sound

  • We will have a powerful sound system set up for the speaking program.
  • We are working on having an ASL interpreter at the event—if you know someone who is willing to help out, please send them our way: zmezera@workingfamilies.org .
  • Megaphones and non-amplified noisemakers like bucket drums and mechanical noisemakers will be in use throughout the event.

❓Weather / Air quality

  • This is a totally outdoors event
  • As of Thursday afternoon, an 82% chance of a small amount of rain – link

  • Other attendees might be smoking or vaping. We will ask that they be considerate of others, but we can’t guarantee a totally smoke- or vapor-free environment.
  • Other attendees might bring animals. We certainly welcome trained service animals and encourage pets only if they are good with people, other animals, and up to date on their shots. Animals must be leashed, and we will seek to turn away any attendees who do not have animals leashed. A large crowd can be stressful for animals, so please exercise caution and judgement about your own animal.
  • Although we will be away from active traffic, we will be near areas where cars are present and might encounter exhaust fumes as we gather and march

❓Food / Water

  • Bring snacks and water
  • Be mindful of allergies when sharing and accepting snacks from other attendees

📣 Sounds + Signs

‘Hands Off!’ Providence – April 5

Sounds + Signs

Audio

  • We will have powerful sound speakers at the final location downtown. If you are hard of hearing, come up to the front, or find someone with an orange vest to help you get closer to the speakers’ area.

Music

We will have multiple bands joining us for this march!

  • Anchors Aweigh
  • Extraordinary Rendition Band
  • Undertow


Chants

  • We will have some chant leaders
  • Feel free to start your own and get your section of the march involved. It is not any one person’s responsibility nor the organizers’ responsibility to start all chants - this is what democracy looks like!

Signs

  • Please bring signs that reflect what you want Elon Musk and Donald Trump (and the entire admin) to get their HANDS OFF. It’s imperative that your signs reflect what matters to YOU. Most likely, if it matters to you, it matters to someone else, too.
  • Signs can be made on anything —cardboard, posterboard, a pizza box, paper - whatever you want. Want to make a banner? Go for it. Want to hand out signs before we start? Go for it. Host a sign making party at your house with friends you know are going. Be a force for good in that way, too - you have the power!
  • Hint: Dollar Tree is always stocked up with tons of posterboard and their markers are really good, too. For about $20 you can really do some impactful work. Imagine if 10 people spent $20…and so it spreads.
  • Click below to RSVP for a sign making party if you’d like to join. There are more that will pop up, and information will follow on those as soon as we have it.

4/4 @ The Womxn Project

Sample Signs

Best Option:                Hands Off _______________!

(Social Security… Medicaid… the Department of Education… immigrants… reproductive rights… trans youth… libraries…)

Other options:

  • No to Project 2025
  • Who Voted for Elon?
  • NO KINGS
  • POWER TO THE PEOPLE
  • STOP THE SHAKEDOWN!
  • WE ARE NOT FOR SALE!
  • BE BOLD
  • WHO ELECTED ELON?
  • F ELON
  • If Trump Can’t Fire Elon, Elon is The Real President
  • Elon Is X’ing Out the Constitution

🦺 Volunteering

‘Hands Off!’ Providence – April 5

Volunteering

➡️Volunteer Form

A nice guide to being a marshal 🙂

A nice guide to volunteer roles in general ☺️

Marching Marshal

  • Step away from being a participant and actively monitor the safety of attendees
  • Walk on the perimeter of the group, guiding attendees along the marching route and keeping a reasonable pace to ensure that no one gets left behind
  • Block traffic at intersections (facing cars), watch perimeters
  • Keep spirits high—encourage chanting and singing
  • If needed, relay messages between the rally leaders via Signal thread
  • De-escalate any conflicts that may arise in the group, especially physical conflicts

Destination Marshal

  • Remain stationed at Burnside Park to ensure the safety of people who arrive early/need to skip the march
  • Guide the crowd as it approaches the final location
  • Encourage energy and chanting
  • Be aware of surroundings or potential agitators and communicate with rally leaders via Signal thread or signal call

Clean-up Crew Member

  • As the march begins, pack up and put away any tables or signs that were set up before joining the march
  • Along the route, collect trash
  • Watch for any items attendees might accidentally drop on the ground and return them to attendees

Clipboard captain

  • Mingle with the group, sharing information about upcoming actions related to the rally
  • Answer questions about the organizations sponsoring the event
  • Collect the contact information of attendees interested in staying involved with sponsoring organizations:
  • First and last name
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • City or town
  • Communicate with members of the public you encounter who aren’t part of the group, who may wonder why the action is taking place and how they can get involved
  • We will have QR codes available for people to scan to join the Indivisible mailing list.

Chant Leader

  • Set the tone of the march through chants and song using megaphones or your outside voice
  • Guide the group through the chants through appropriate pacing and division of chants
  • Call and response form: “I say X, you say Y. X!” or “What do we want? Y!” and allow the crowd to say Y.
  • Repetition form: The crowd repeats after you
  • Chorus form: All singing a song together. Attendees will probably not know the words to all the verses, but will be to follow the choruses, which you will sing through the megaphone.

First Aid

  • Has up-to-date accreditation and/or training in first aid
  • Carry a first aid kit at all times and be prepared to handle a range of emergencies and injuries. Some situations that medics might handle:
  • Cuts and scrapes
  • Temperature-related discomfort (for example, wind burn)
  • Outside crowd-control related injuries (for example, in the unlikely event that police use pepper spray on attendees)

💬 Speakers / Sponsors

‘Hands Off!’ Providence

Current Speaker Lineup

Hope HS

  • Zack Mezera, Working Families Party

Providence City Hall

  • Norah O’Brien Gervais (pronounced Gervay, no S)
  • 100 year old from RI who has lived through many administrations and is fed up with what’s going on!
  • Harrison Tuttle
  • Founder of Village Vanguard
  • Rev. Dr. Donnie Anderson
  • Acclaimed pastor and social activist based in Rhode Island
  • Dan Denvir
  • Co-Chair of Reclaim RI & alternate uncommitted delegate to the DNC from RI
  • Mel Potter
  • Reclaim RI member and tenant
  • Jenine Bressner
  • Atlantic Mills Tenants Union member-organizer
  • Jocelyn Foye
  • Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Womxn Project HQ
  • State Representative Karen Alzate (Pawtucket, Central Falls)
  • House sponsor of 2025 Revenue for RI’ers ‘Tax the Rich’ legislation
  • State Senator Melissa Murray (Woonsocket & North Smithfield)
  • Senate sponsor of 2025 Revenue for RI’ers ‘Tax the Rich’ legislation
  • Jesse Martin
  • Executive Vice President, SEIU 1199 NE
  • Dawn Auclair
  • Nursing Home Hero, SEIU 1199 NE member
  • Aseem Rastogi
  • Chair, Indivisible RI

✊ Actions to take NOW

‘Hands Off!’ Providence

Actions to Take Now

Please suggest actions (upcoming events, active petitions, etc.) by emailing ri@workingfamilies.org.